Impeachment Hearings Could Kill WA Distilleries
If you needed concrete proof that the impeachment hearings are a waste of time, AND are holding up important Congressional business, here's another one.
While House Democrats fiddle away the rest of 2019 on impeachment, hundreds of alcohol distilleries are facing potential shutdown. That's because a 2017 Congressional law that provided much needed excise tax relief is about to expire. This includes many in Washington state.
According to multiple sources, the law dropped alcohol distilleries (not beer breweries) tax from $2.70 per bottle to $.54. However, that law is about to expire, or sunset. Unless Congress acts to either extend it or modify it, a number of Washington state distilleries (and many across the country) will face as high as a 400% tax rate hike.
One distillery, 2bar Spirits in the SoDo district of Seattle, says most huge distilleries could probably absorb much of that cost. However, 2bar, like many, produces only about 9,000 proof gallons of hard alcohol. Many of the large firms crank out more than 100,000.
According to many producers, Congress has about a week to make something happen before the end of the year. Without action, says the owner of 2bar, they estimate about 30% of all distilleries in the U.S. will go out of business next year.